The chemical has been linked to damaged neurological development in children and cancer.

The law was supposed to go into effect on Jan. 1 of this year, but the Oregon Health Authority is in the middle of a 60-day comment period on how it will be enforced.

Deca-BDE is found in plastic food-shipping pallets.

The problem, say health officials and environmentalists, is deca-BDE can seep into food. So, if you’re carrying lettuce on a plastic pallet, it is possible for the chemical to migrate into it.

Indeed, a study in December showed the chemical in butter. The scientists who performed that analysis believed the chemical seeped in from the butter’s wrapper.

The Oregon law specifically targets plastic pallets as a product that might be banned: “Plastic shipping pallets would be subject to the ban and therefore cannot contain one-tenth of one percent (0.10 percent) of the hazardous substances listed.”

“While the attempt to single out plastic shipping pallets now – years after the statute was enacted – is questionable, we are confident that both the underlying statute and any follow-on rule making will not affect iGPS operations. The Oregon Health Authority plans to engage in a formal rule making procedure which will allow all affected parties to be heard, and iGPS will be involved in that process.”